Hey all - I’m a recent returnee to the hobby. Up until July, I hadn’t built regularly in 15 years, and hadn’t built anything in more than ten.
When I was getting the work area up and running, I picked up a cheap Revell SBD Dauntless to tinker with. It was a terrible kit. The cockpit was a mess, the kit didn’t even bother with a pilot’s seat, just a squarish hint molded to a poorly detailed pilot’s backside, the surface detail was way off…I gave it about an hour’s worth of actual work before saying screw it and resigning it to the role of paint testbed.
But…I love the Dauntless, and the Revell kit inspired me to build a good one. Well, maybe not good, but as good as I can manage.
Now that I’ve finished my first real build in a decade, I’m moving on to the next, Accurate Miniatures’ SBD-3. Figured I’d share to 1) make everyone else feel better about their models and 2) learn from this amazing community.
Apologies for several of the early pics. I’ve been getting lazy and reaching for the iPhone for pics.
EDIT - Just looking for the completed build? Here ya go!/forums/p/130477/1332586.aspx#1332586
The Kit
I purchased my SBD-3 off ebay. Open box, but sealed sprue trees. At first glance everything looked great, but as I’ve gotten into the build I’ve been finding some problems that I’ll detail as I go.
One of the problems was the warped dive flaps. My LHS happened to have a set of Eduard flaps in one of their bins, so I picked those up, as well as an Eduard cockpit detail set (my first and maybe my last) and a canopy mask.
In my past modeling life, I used Model Master enamels exclusively. This time around, I’m still settling on what I want to use. I’ve had some solid success with Tamiya, but I’ve decided to give Lifecolor and Vallejo a try this time around, in large part because they both offer FS35189.
While I was at it, I went ahead and ordered some Lifecolor Interior Green. Wow this stuff sprays thin. Not necessarily bad - and in fact I think it’ll be awesome with some pre-shading - but it takes some getting used to.
Before I spray the exterior I’m planning to do a paint-off between Lifecolor and Vallejo on the Fail Dauntless…
I kinda went the same route. Built the Revell one, then wanted to do a real model of the SBD, so I picked up the Accurate Miniatures SBD-2 and got started on it. The level of detail compared to the Revell version is unbelievable! I had a good start going on it, working with reference books to paint the cockpit and all the little control levers AM gives you the correct colors, etc. Just about got to the point where I was satisfied and getting ready to installit in the aircraft, when one day my wife looks down and says “What is the dog chewing on?” I got up to see, and as I got closer, got a sick feeling in my stomach. Yep - it was my SBD cockpit! Not only was the floor chewed into an unrecognizable shape, but the little control levers that I had so painstakingly painted and detailed were not even there or on the floor around him - he had swallowed them! That pooch came very close to being sent to doggy heaven that day, but when he looked up at me with his deep, brown eyes like “What did I do?”, of course I had to forgive him. . .
Anyway, I ordered a second kit from e-bay, but haven’t had the urge to get started on it yet. I do know one thing - except for the cockpit - I’ll have all the spare parts I could need!
This Dauntless has by far the most bizarrely-engineered cockpit of any model I’ve ever encountered. It’s not necessarily that it’s confusing, just that it’s so far removed from any other cockpit build I’ve experienced that I’ve been feeling like I’m doing it wrong. It’s also a nightmare on test-fitting.
I started with the instrument panel. For some reason, AM decided to mold this in clear plastic with some crazy idea of putting gauge decals on the back to show through. Another awesome benefit of molding it in clear plastic is that they made it very brittle, and it came out of the parts bag missing the starboard rudder pedal (which also, by the way, connects it to the cockpit floor).
I was just starting to glue the PE panels with thinned white glue when mothra attacked and totally threw me off. Nevertheless, it and the other cockpit bits slowly came together. The waggle pump linkage (think that’s what it’s called…I’m away from the instructions right now) was also damaged so I cut it off. Not sure if I want to both remaking the linkage or just chalk it up to “no one will notice once its closed up”.
The PE belts were another bit of fun. Spent a fair amount of time on the buckles and straps, only to have them fly off into the far corners of the garage while attempting to bend the seatbelts to the seats. Next time I’ll be going masking tape and maybe adding some PE accents after the fact.
Weathering was hit or miss. I’m trying out ProModeller’s Dark Dirt wash. Think I should have glossed the cockpit first, since I’m having trouble removing the excess. After doing a thoroughly decent job on the Mustang, I guess the way the cockpit goes together must be throwing my mind out of whack or something.
Next up - sealing the fuselage. This will be the first kit I’ve ever built where the fuselage is sealed before the cockpit’s done.
Thanks all! So far it’s going well enough. I have this sinking fear that once I go to install the cockpit floor, the pilot’s bulkhead is going to throw up fit issues. I appreciate AM’s ingenuity here, but really don’t like this inability to put things together until it’s almost too late to fix any fit issues.
It’s a very good thing I build in the garage! Between a very curious toddler (who happens to really like cars and airplanes) and a very curious yellow lab (who will and has eaten wood, plastic, rocks and metal), I don’t think any build-in-progress would stand a chance inside!
Very nice work! I’ve just recently got into Accurate Miniature models as the Hobby Lobby near me had the Tuskegee Airmen mustang on clearance. I like they way everything looks packaged up and the parts look (have not tested yet) like everything should fit together like a Tamiya kit.
Good luck with the build, its coming along very well!
Having built a handful of the AM SBDs, I guarantee you are in for a treat. As a fanatic, the only kit I enjoyed more was the Trumpy 1/32…
That being said-- AM kits are best built as pe the instructions…but a variation here or there can help…AM has a link that I have given below to an online build of the kit that’ll help install the cockpit into place like a charm…
So far I wouldn’t say the fit’s quite as good as Tamiya - at least not as good as the -51B I’m coming off of - but I’m still in the early stages of main assembly.
Most of the cockpit went together pretty well, with the exception of the ammo rack on the gunner’s rear bulkhead. No matter what I did I couldn’t get it to sit flat, but I finally overcame using an overwhelming CA assault. Looks like hell from the bottom, but once the cockpit floor is in place, there’s no way anybody will ever see down there anyway.
I also got the fuselage together last night. It didn’t just fall together the way Tamiya’s Mustang did, and took a bit of “hold here, push here” to get everything to line up, but it was nothing a few strips of tape couldn’t handle. I also got to use a Touch-n-Flow for the first time (it finally came!), and wow, what a fantastic little tool. I don’t think I’ll need to do more than some light sanding and scribing.
Once the fuselage was together I installed the pilot’s bulkhead and seat and tested the fit with the cockpit floor. Everything slid right together, and the enclosed cockpit looks positively brimming with detail! I’m also happy to report that the damaged waggle pump linkage is pretty much impossible to see once everything is closed up. Unfortunately the missing rudder pedal is pretty visible, and I think I may go back and see if I can’t sand down the mold seam on the aft stick boot. Need to test fit the aft cockpit deck, gunner’s turret ring and radio equipment first, though. For all I know, that’s another detail that may end up completely buried.
Not sure if either is a dead ringer for the actual blue grey. The Vallejo is way too dark, and has a very slight green tint in it, but the Lifecolor seems too light to my eye.
I think I may pick up a few different Vallejo colors and see if I can’t mix up the color on my own.
After several days experimenting with paint on the one hand and working through the final cockpit bits on the other, I finally made some headway last night.
Managed to get the cockpit assembly completed. I still have some seam work to do on the pilot’s bulkhead and some weathering to do on the gunner’s deck, but at least it’s all together at last. Installing the turret ring was a major PITA of trying to cram a delicate piece up through other delicate pieces, but it finally went in.
I also got most of the engine painted and assembled. I’ve got a few minor touchups to do on the crankcase and around the wiring, but that’s about it.
Looking really forward to moving on to main assembly.
I’m sure he is referring to the Lifecolor’s impression of being too light. In real life, the Navy blues oxidized and faded very quickly in sea duty from the harsh salt elements, and weather. So, if you are going to weather it, lighter is better[H]
Well, I’m finally gaining some momentum with the Dauntless now that the cockpit assembly is out of the way. It’s kind of frustrating that, for the amount of time I spent on it, so few of the details are even visible with the fuselage closed up. Heck, the only Eduard PE bits that are even visible are the pilot and gunner’s belts and the main instrument panel…kinda makes the rest of it seem a waste. Oh well…I suppose I’ll just chalk that up as a lesson for next time. I imagine it’ll come in handy when I get around to the Zvezda Lavochkin La-5 with it’s full internal structure.
In other news, the wings went on last night. The attachment wasn’t Tamiya smooth, and I’m definitely going to have some filling and standing to do in a few places, but dry fitting with tape and then using the touch-n-flow in small sections got the job done. This is the first kit I’ve ever used it on, and I already can’t imagine how I ever built anything without it!
With the wings on, it’s kind of shocking how heavy this model is. Much more so than the Tamiyastang I’m coming off of, or the Fail Dauntless I use as a paint dummy.
And speaking of the Fail Dauntless, I discovered last night that not only are its panel lines wildly inaccurate, so are it’s overall dimensions. Its wingspan is easily 3/4" shorter than the Accurate kit, and the wings themselves much less massive.
More progress last night. I’m rapidly closing in on the seam-filling/sanding phase.
One major complaint I have from working with the cowl pieces is that this kit is just too clever for its own good. Or for my own good, since at least some of the issues almost definitely stemmed from user error.
First, the cowl’s three-piece design strikes me as straight up retarded. They could have very easily molded this as a two-piecer, leaving only two perfectly straight lines to sand, fill and what-have-you. It just struck me as pointless. I’m assuming it was designed this way so AM could re-use most of the cowl molds for later Dauntlesses, but ugh.
Second, the gun deck or whatever it’s called that extends from the “dash” of the cockpit right up to the engine cowl. This was a joy because it straight up did not fit with my poor, one-rudder-pedal instrument panel. I ended up having to cut the locating slats, trim the top of the instrument panel, and cut out the back of the machine guns to get everything to fit properly.
Fortunately the stabs and underside hardpoints went on without complaint.
